Drum without frontiers

resonances of the presence of Afro-Uruguayan candombe in southern Brazil

Abstract

The article narrates the trajectory of the creation of a musical collective of Afro-Uruguayan candombe in southern Brazil, in the region of the campaign, bordering Uruguay. The initiative is linked to the project Tambor Sem Fronteiras, coordinated by Brazilian members of the Pampa Sem Fronteiras Culture Point, in the city of Bagé (RS), among which is the author of this text. This is a cross-border action of integration and exchange between cultural groups from Brazil and Uruguay, aiming at the difusion of the musical practice of candombe on the Brazilian side of the border. The social, artistic and cultural actions of the collective of drummers converged for the formation of a cultural corridor of border strip (or a route of drums) based on rhythmic learning and coexistence with candombe comparsas from the interior of Uruguay. The text therefore presents a discussion about the effects, affections and controversies generated by the transit of piano, chico and repique drums beyond geographical borders. By following the route traced by the drums, border cultural agents weave common stories between Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Uruguayan cultures, often perceived as independent and separated by national boundaries, as well as proposing other forms of occupation of the public space of the street, anchored in the resonant and affecting presence of candombe drums.